Traditional is new again at the Little Traverse Inn
By Norm Wheeler
Sun editor
Graeme and Judy Leask, with daughters Chelsea and Gemma, have resuscitated an old county landmark and gathering place: the Little Traverse Inn. Most recently the restaurant North, and for many years before that the Leelanau Country Inn, this cozy glass-porched B&B and eatery has, as the menu recalls, “an incredible history.” The Atkinson family, homesteaders who owned a big stretch along the north side of M-22 from the little red schoolhouse down to South Bohemian Road that includes all of Little Traverse Lake, built the house in 1890 and made it into a resort in 1896. “Their sons would relocate from the house’s numerous bedrooms to the barn every summer so they could host visiting families.” Now renovated by Graeme and his sidekick Sean, a New Zealand native, the Inn offers six bedrooms, each with a private bath, as well as excellent “old country” fare in the Gastro Pub.
You feel comfortable as soon as you enter and are welcomed by Graeme, the affable and loquacious Scotsman, and Judy, his Michigander wife. Before your bar stool is warm you’ll find there’s a pint in your hand, either a cask conditioned ale from a local brew pub or a glass of smooth Tally Wacker Scottish Ale (from Ann Arbor) The big taps and the chatter take you back to your first visit to the British Isles, the bridges of London streaming with all of the cars and steering wheels on the wrong side, the diesel exhaust of the double-decker busses, the smell of fish and chips, and the happy cockney yammering of the gathered hordes in the pubs at day’s end.
This authenticity is echoed in the menu. Appetizers include smoked salmon on Irish soda bread, crispy haggis parcels, or the scotch egg (“banger” sausage meat wrapped around a hard boiled egg with whisky mustard sauce, a little delicacy from the Middle Ages carried out to the fields by Scottish farmers and shepherds so they needn’t return home for lunch), plus a couple of Indian-inspired options: poppadums with homemade apple tomato chutney, or onion bhaji, a traditional onion fritter with Canterbury red sauce. And the soups, salads, entrees and desserts all extend the theme. You can choose between cottage pie, shepherd’s pie, toad in the hole (Yorkshire pudding) and a sensational looking fluffy mountain of fish and chips. From the Indian influence there is chicken tikka masala (”a delicious dish in which chicken, pre-marinated in yogurt and spices, is grilled and then added to a thick and creamy onion and tomato based sauce. At the Inn we add a little coconut milk for a lovely, sweet and smoky flavor. Chicken tikka masala is now England’s biggest selling dish, surpassing even fish and chips!), and shrimp madras, a spicy curry blending coriander, cumin, cilantro, ginger, cinnamon and garlic. American fare includes a half-pound house burger, a sirloin steak or homemade mac and cheese.
The Little Traverse Inn will also celebrate the major British holidays. For Friday, Nov. 30, St. Andrew’s Day (the patron saint of Scotland), Graeme promises traditional Scottish fare including roast lamb, salmon, haggis, “tipsy laird” (a trifle laced with Drambuie) and a gathering of musicians for an old fashioned “Ceilidh”. Graeme’s 74-year-old father from Scotland will be here to lead an interactive tasting of special single malt scotches, including both highland and lowland varieties, and according to his son he “sounds exactly like Sean Connery.” On Boxing Day (Dec. 26) there will be a big fundraiser for Big Brothers, Big Sisters. Graeme plans to deep fry a rafter of turkeys and give food away (and sell beer) to those who donate to this worthy cause. Also on New Year’s Eve (“Hogmany” in Scotland) there will be music, champagne and the singing of at least one song by the Scottish National Poet: Robert Burns.
Autumn hours at the Little Traverse Inn are Thursdays 4-10 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays noon-10 and Sundays noon-9. You can call (231) 228-2560, or visit www.LittleTraverseInn.com. The Inn is located along M-22 between Glen Arbor and Leland near Little Traverse Lake and just west of Sugarloaf.
